Red Runner
by Platapap
Summary: AU. Little did Liara T'Soni know during a university school trip she would meet a dashing young female human that would sweep her off her feet and carry her off to an adventure of a lifetime... Literally. There's a lot of kicking and screaming. Datapads go flying; it's quite the scene.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Mass Effect or any of its characters. They're all owned by Bioware. Yes, Treeya Nuwani is **not** an OC; she's from Mass Effect's animated movie _Mass Effect: Paragon Lost_.

I told myself I wouldn't post this until _Contact in Blue_ had a few more chapters out, but that one is still fighting me tooth-and-nail so I wanted to get this one started as well and see how people respond to it via feedback. That said, this story is supposed to be a humorous little romp with barely any drama and plenty of laughs - something much more up my alley. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

**'Till next we meet!**

* * *

Ah, the presidium. Everything here was so clean, so orderly, and best of all, she didn't have to keep checking her pockets even ten minutes to see if her credit chit had been stolen. No offence to the Wards, but Liara was much more at ease walking along the white walkways of the Citadel's upper echelon.

Being Matriarch Benezia's daughter, she grew up more well-off than most, and in turn, lived a rather sheltered childhood. Homeschooled in both academics and biotics, it wasn't until she shipped off to Serrice University that she had to interact with large groups of people from all walks of life. Still skittish and withdrawn around most people, the young T'Soni of only 90 or so years mostly kept to herself, preferring the company of datapads over colleagues.

That said, if you got her started on Protheans, her personality did a complete one-eighty, something her poor college roommate had learned the hard way.

Said roommate let out heavy sigh, rubbing her temples as Liara continued to chatter away about architecture this and symbolism that. Treeya Nuwani adored her dorm mate, she really did, and to be fair she kind of expected this when she signed up for this trip, but confronting Liara when she was on of her tangents was like trying to fight back against a solid wave of words.

"Li," she started, cutting off her friend mid-sentence. "You _do_ remember I'm only doing this for the extra credit, right?" They were on an academic trip to the Citadel where they were to study Prothean influence for two weeks and deliver a twelve-page report by the end, all for a single college credit.

"Yes, but you're studying to be an anthropologist. Surely learning about the civilization in which all known living species base their technology is a solid step in your academic career?"

It was, which was why Treeya was currently walking through the presidium next to Liara as they collaborated on self-study. Well, that and her friend practically begged her to go, and she couldn't say no to Liara, who rarely ever asked others for anything. "You're right," Treeya conceded, "it is. But I'm much more interested in studying those 'known living species,' as you so eloquently put it."

Treeya's light teasing did nothing to dampen Liara's excitable, bright-eyed expression as they moved towards the Mass Relay replica, datapads in hand. She apologized for what must have been the hundredth time since they arrived a few days ago, "Forgive me, Treeya, it's just, I can finally start taking courses more in line with becoming an archeologist. And what's more, Shiala agreed to leave me be while on the presidium!"

Treeya's footing faltered as she gaped. "Wait, Shiala as in: 'I'm not going to so much as let you use their bathroom until I've checked every nook and cranny for hidden cameras'? That Shiala?" No offence to the commando; Treeya was certain she was good at her job. She had even met the woman a few times, the first being a rather intimidating interrogation when Liara had finally started to open up to her. However, Nuwani was under the impression that Shiala was a bit too overzealous when it came to caring for the T'Soni heir, like a soldier assigned the task of nanny.

Liara's cheeks flushed a little at the imagery, embarrassed. Unfortunately, she could clearly picture Shiala doing that, if the commando felt there was some danger nearby. She had known the matron all her life, Shiala being one of her mother's most loyal and trusted acolytes. She was one of the few people Liara was comfortable enough to be open with, and the young maiden had sought her wisdom many a time when her mother was too busy.

She was also Liara's personal biotics instructor growing up, so it was with confidence that she recounted what she told Shiala: "I reminded her that the presidium is the most heavily guarded areas on the Citadel, second only to the Council Chambers. There's virtually nothing up here that could, or would hurt me, and in the very small chance something did happen, she has sufficiently trained me enough in biotics to evade danger and escape to safety. After agreeing to seek Consort Sha'ira's help if things went wrong, she finally agreed to let me do my own thing when in the presidium."

Treeya wasn't convinced. "Wasn't Shiala assigned by your mother to look after you on this trip? Didn't you say she has to send detailed reports back to your mom on any happenings that occur?"

"Treeya, please." Liara turned fully to her friend, a pleased, almost smug smile on her face. "_Nothing_ ever happens in the presidium."

An explosion promptly went off nearby, shaking the suspended bridge and everyone on it.

Liara and Treeya leaned against a railing, trying to catch their balance as panicked screams echoed around them. Bewildered, the pair turned towards where the bomb blasted, peering through the dust and rubble to find a lone figure darting toward them at top speed. The person had their head turned to look behind them and before Treeya could pull her petrified friend out of harm's way, the three of them crashed into each other, datapads flying as their bodies tumbled. Treeya's arms pinwheeled wildly before she fell back over the railing and into the water below, leaving Liara in a jumbled mess of limbs on the floor with a total stranger.

Disoriented, the newcomer groaned, cradling their head in their hand and muttering a few expletives as they leaned up. They froze, however, when a group of men started to appear from the presidium's new impromptu hallway:

"Where is she? She has Aria's info! We have to find her," came the shouts from what appeared to be a small group of human men wearing matching letterman jackets.

Their target cursed again, trying to get up but falling back down when their leg caught with Liara's, dropping their bag and spilling its contents. "Are you shitting me right now!" they person yelled incredulously as the pads mixed in with the group already spread across the walkway. They ignored the asari who was just now getting their bearings nearby and scrambled to pick up as many datapads as they could find, shoving them all haphazardly into their satchel.

Liara winced in pain, the ache in her shoulder grounding her as the dizziness passed. _What happened?_ Blue eyes looked up to see a face hovering mere inches away and she drew back on instinct, however the other didn't even acknowledge her existence and seemed to be feverishly picking up pads. Wait, datapads?

_My research!_

Before she knew what she was doing, the asari reached out and grabbed the other end of the pad the human was trying to put away. "Unhand my research!" Liara was so caught up in her ire that she forgot her usual fear of strangers and was instead having a tugging war with this female human who matched her glare with one of her own.

"Let! Go!" The two went back and forth until their yelling caught unwanted attention.

"There she is!" One of the men hollered, and the human female instantly froze in alarm. Seizing the opportunity, Liara got up and hugged the datapad to her chest as if her life depended on it. "Get her!"

The human jumped to her feet, dread written all over her face as she glanced at the rest of the pads on the ground, the one in Liara's grip, and then back over her shoulder. Then, in a bizarre turn of events, Liara watched as all of the tension in the female's body simply vanished. Slowly, they turned back to her and Liara almost took a step back at the powerful resolve shining in those sharp green eyes.

Liara's glare faltered, her body frozen in place, completely overwhelmed under this young human's intense stare. It pierced right through her and all she could do was hug the datapad even closer as if to put a barrier between them. Just as quickly as the daunting glower came, it disappeared in a blur of red. A surprised yelp escaped Liara's lips and in a flurry of motion, she found herself hoisted over the human's shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried away from the Mass Relay replica. Her world bounced wildly as the human rushed through the presidium, trying to find an exit.

"U-Unhand me!" Liara finally had enough sense to protest, trying to kick her legs free of the human's grip while pounding her free hand against their back.

"You give me the datapad and I'll be more than happy to!" the human responded snippily. "Then _you_ can deal with those guys while I get away!"

"Deal with…?" Liara stopped pounding her fist long enough to glance at their pursuers and she instantly wished she hadn't. The group of burly human males was slowly gaining on them and she had a feeling they weren't just going to let her walk away quietly. Upon closer inspection of their persons, color drained from her face and she clung tightly to her captor, almost mentally willing the female human to run faster. "Oh Goddess! They have guns!"

"Can't you do something about them?"

"_Me_?" Liara's voice broke as she exclaimed, wide-eyed and fearful, unable to draw her gaze away from the rifles. "I don't want anything to do with this!"

"Don't asari have the best biotics in the galaxy?" The human sounded exasperated. Whether it was at the situation or her, Liara did not know. "Blast them away with your mind-lasers or something!"

Liara would have felt insulted if she wasn't so terrified. "Asari do not have—" An idea came to her as they passed through a dining area. Trained asari commandos could have easily made quick work of these men, but Liara was a simple university student with no combat experience. That said, thanks to mentor's guidance she was confident in her biotics.

_All right, just like Shiala taught you._ Liara closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to block everything else out as she reached deep within her mind to tap into the flow just beyond consciousness. She began to build upon the streams of biotics that surged through her body, pressure mounting at the base of her skull and energy dancing under the skin until her physical form couldn't hold it any longer. She opened her eyes, wisps of blue and white enveloping her form and she snapped her arm out toward a table, willing the biotics to move as an extension of her being.

It took effort, but she was able to lift the table and fling it at the group, knocking a majority of them down and halting the others as they moved to avoid the furniture.

"I-I did it! They're down!" she beamed, elated. Residual biotics flickered around as she viewed her handiwork.

"Whoa, really? Nice!" her carrier replied, and Liara plainly could hear the admiration in her voice. A rush of pride filled the asari and she felt exhilarated. She had actually fended off their assailants!

Her joy was short lived, however, as she watched the group of men helped each other get up and take aim. "The asari is with her! Get them both!"

"They think I'm with you! They're going to shoot!" Words clumsily tumbled out of Liara's mouth, too panicked to do little more than parrot their pursuers.

"I guess this means it's my turn," the other murmured, and the asari could only just hear her over the rush of air. "Hold on tight!"

Before Liara could even begin to ponder what she meant, she found herself being pulled into a bridal-style hold and launched into the air. Everything seemed to move in slow motion when she noticed there was suddenly no longer any ground underneath them. The human had jumped off a balcony and was now free falling to their doom. _This is it,_ she thought, holding on to the human with all her strength as a horror-struck scream ripped up from her throat. _This is how I die. This human is suicidal and has decided to take me with her._

A lower level of the presidium was rapidly approaching and Liara knew the impact from the fall would be enough to kill them both. She squeezed her eyes shut, her silent prayers mixing in with gunfire sounding off all around them. _May I find peace as I return to the boundless expanse of the universe…_

She waited a couple seconds, hoping for a mercifully quick end, but instead felt the human shift their grip over her, followed quickly by a sickening jerk of her body. One-third curious and two-thirds queasy, Liara re-opened her eyes to find they were… flying?

Looking around, they were soaring above people and skycars, the ground nowhere in sight. _But how…?_ Light glinting off of something metallic caught her attention and she glanced over to see a long, thick metal cable attached to a balcony above them. They weren't flying; the human was using a grappling mechanism to swing them around a bend in the presidium!

_But surely the tether isn't strong enough to hold us bo—_ Wait, why does the hook-end look like an arm? Liara's eyes followed the cable and bulged when she found another metallic piece instead of flesh and bone attached to the human's shoulder. _Goddess! Where is her limb!_

Her thoughts were since again thrown off-track when she felt the human gently tuck her head into the crook of a pale neck, cradling the back protectively with her hand. The human spoke quietly right next to her aural canal, "Sorry about this, but the landing's going to be a bit rough." Just then, the extension of her captor's prosthetic limb disconnected from the balcony's underside and snapped back into place in mere moments, the cable withdrawing inside the upper portion of the metallic arm. They fell and the human maneuvered her body around the asari's as much as she could, taking the brunt of the fall when they finally fell down into a small passage between different sectors of the presidium. They tumbled before finally stopping on what appeared to be a metal catwalk leading into the inner workings of the Citadel.

For the second time in that hour, Liara had to shake the dizziness away before leaning up. Her body didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, given their fall. She started, realizing the human protected her and landed in such a way that Liara would fall on top of her. Blue eyes darted around before they rested on the sprawled body of her captor.

Liara's breath caught in her throat. The human wasn't moving. There was blood.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for reading! Any feedback is greatly appreciated! **'Till next time, please enjoy.  
**

* * *

_Goddess, no!_

Liara quickly leaned up and fought through the soreness in her limbs. Crawling over, she reached out to her captor, flinching when she almost touched the red flow dripping from her temple and disappearing into similarly red hair. _No, no, no please be okay!_ Her mind raced as she tried to remember anything that might help. She stammered helplessly before remembering something from her lower levels of education.

Immediately, she took the hem of her coat and used her biotics to rip off a piece of cloth. Pressing it against the human's head, she tapped the woman's face with her palm, each pat becoming more and more desperate. "Please wake up!" A strong blow to the head could cause a concussion; Liara needed to wake this human up and keep her aware until she received medical attention.

The asari was almost out-right slapping the human before they started to stir. She let out a sigh of relief, a large weight lifting off her shoulders when she spotted green eyes opening. _She's alive!_ "Miss? Miss, I need to get you to a medical facility!"

Unfortunately, those green eyes remained unfocused, sluggishly looking about before they stopped on Liara's face. In a bizarre turn of events, the university student watched as a completely serene smile formed on the human's face. "You have the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen," they whispered in obvious revere, then promptly slumped into another blackout.

Liara blinked slowly in her bewilderment, otherwise frozen in stunned silence. _What? What did she—_ "Gah, no! Liara, focus!" Physically shaking herself out of her stupor, she went back to drumming the human's cheek to get her to wake up. It took a few pregnant moments, but the woman eventually roused from her slumber.

They frowned, groaning in frustration and pain. "Stop," she half-whined, half-growled, but Liara refused to let up until she saw green eyes once more. When they appeared, the asari almost winced at how intense the glare was. "I said, _stop._"

_At least she's more aware now. _"Are you all right?" Liara asked, before inwardly cringing at her own question; she's bleeding from her skull, of course she's not okay!

As if to prove her inner thoughts correct, a groan fell past the human's lips and she laid her head back, closing her eyes in a pained scowl. "Fuck, my head…" She took a shuttered breath. "Hurts. Pounding. Head- so tired. Need sleep…" Her face started to relax, but Liara didn't give her any time to drift off. Her green gaze opened up once more as soon as the asari's hand met her cheek. "_What?_" the word was growled out with barely restrained contempt.

"You need medical attention!" the other said, figuring it was best to just get to the point. "You've hit your head." Blue eyes darted over to the trickle of blood falling from a nearby hand railing before moving back. "You need to stay awake until a doctor can take a look at you."

"Doctor? What?" The redhead grit her teeth when they tried to sit up and immediately fell back when an intense dizzy spell assaulted them. "What… happened?" she spoke breathily, attempting to steady herself before trying to get up again. She brought one of her hands up to the aching pulse at her temple, but found the asari's hand pressed there with a damp cloth. "I think… I've got it."

Liara frowned, concerned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She replaced Liara's hand with her own. A couple of beats passed and the human took a deep breath, forcing herself to lean up. White flashes darted across her vision, but she pushed through until they finally disappeared. She turned to the asari. "Help me up." Under normal circumstances, she might have been more polite, but her vision kept flickering and she felt like she might collapse if she didn't stand up soon. The dark stain on the cloth told her that time was of the essence.

Liara helped the young woman up, catching her as they started to stumble. The asari leaned the other's full weight against them, she herself almost buckling; apparently those muscles were more full than Liara anticipated. The university student opened their mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when she realized she didn't any idea what to do, or where to go from here. A hospital or clinic, yes, but she didn't even know where they were, let alone how to get to a medical facility. She glanced over to the opening that lead to the presidium, then followed the catwalk's path into what looked to be the bowels of the Citadel. Pipes ran along side the metal walkway, the trail lit up by ominous red-orange lighting.

She was brought out of her musing when the human spoke, leaning their head against her shoulder. "What happened?" the redhead asked for a second time. Her captor seemed to have finally caught her breath and Liara was thankful when some of their weight shifted off her body.

Liara worried her lip slightly, wondering which parts to mention. _You slammed into me, tried to steal my research, then carried me off, dragging me into whatever you did to cause those guys to shoot at us. Oh, and you then jumped off a balcony and hit your head and almost got us killed. _She frowned. Okay, maybe a little too passive-aggressive. She could complain once this human wasn't on the verge of a pain-induced coma. "We were being pursued and shot at. Then you… repelled?" Was that the right word? It was more like they were swinging on a metallic jungle vine made out of the human's left arm. "Off a balcony and we ended up down here."

"Pursued…" The human parroted thoughtfully. She nodded, recalling something, "Yeah, I was on a run. They followed me and I tried to shake them off, but I couldn't get away. Damned psychos blew up a wall in the presidium with a grenade meant for me." The redhead scoffed, but winced when the action brought on a particularly harsh pulse of pain. She went quiet as she mentally went through the events that followed. Her gaze lowered to the datapad Liara held, then over to her own satchel, glad that neither had been lost during the whole ordeal. "Did we lose them?"

Her answer didn't come from Liara, but rather the aggravated yells from said goons back where they jumped off, followed closely by C-Sec _finally_ arriving at the scene and confronting the armed men. "Can't go back that way."

Liara thought otherwise. "But once those men are gone, we can seek medical help from a hospital in the presidium." During emergencies, she and Treeya were to go to the Consort and contact Shiala. The reminder of her friend had Liara worried; was Treeya okay? She hoped beyond hope that those men were so focused on this human that they paid no mind to the asari that fell overboard.

"No." The redhead explained when the university student frowned disapprovingly, "C-Sec isn't only after those goons. No doubt someone is trying to ID us in hopes that we get taken in too. Besides, there's more than likely going be more Tenth Street Reds keeping low profile while prowling around, looking for us. No, we stick to the catwalks and Wards until things die down." She gestured down the walkway ahead.

_Tenth Street Reds?_ Liara filed the name away for later and returned to the topic at hand. "But will we know which way to go? For all we know, this route could lead to thousands of maze-like corridors."

"It _is_ maze like," the human agreed, her confidence intriguing the asari. "If you don't know your way around, that is." A cocky grin spread across the humans face, her green eyes shining with what Liara could only describe as glee. "Lucky for you, I know these tunnels like the back of my hand." As if to prove her point, the woman moved her left hand, but frowned when something felt off. She glanced over the asari's shoulder and scowled at the sight; it appeared her metal arm took the brunt of the impact and had definitely seen better days. "Are you serious?" She sighed. "Tali's gonna kill me…"

_At least she seems to be feeling better._ The human was much more active now, so maybe the injuries weren't as bad as Liara initially thought. "These tunnels…?" she echoed, trying to get them back on track.

"Oh, right. I was saying I know how to get around down here. Judging by your clothes and how you were up there to begin with, I'm guessing you need to get back to the presidium?" At Liara's hesitant nod she continued, "Then we'll have to lay low until I can get you back. I know just the perfect place that both hidden from view, and where I can get medical attention." She smiled easily. "We can kill two birds with one stone."

Liara gaped, horrified at the notion. "What does murdering defenseless birds have anything to do with our current situation? I refuse to participate!"

The redhead blinked. "Murdering defenseless…? Pfft!" Suddenly, a stream of laughter bubbled up and she started to bend over at the intensity, only stopping when the action irritated her injuries. Even then, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes.

"And just what is so funny?" Liara asked, bewildered and offended.

Hearing the anger in Liara's voice, the human tried to quell their mirth. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes but unable to wipe away her grin. "It's a human expression. It means we can take care of two problems with one action. We're not actually going to kill birds."

"O-oh…" Liara deflated, her ire leaving her like a hot air balloon. Her cheeks warmed a little in embarrassment and she had to look away. "Forgive me. I have never interacted with a human before, let alone studied your idioms."

"Hey, it's okay. No offence taken." The human sounded calmer, even friendly. Liara turned to find those green eyes warm and welcoming, with a hint of amusement still swirling around. The asari decided she liked how sharp the green color looked, like a cut gemstone. It was… pretty.

_Wait, 'pretty'?_

Before Liara could ponder on her mind's… interesting word choice, the human spoke up, "We should get moving. It's a bit of a walk."

The asari looked over her shoulder, wary about going to this humans 'hidden' location. They really should just go down to the Wards…

A heavy sigh sounded at her hesitance and Liara glanced back not to find annoyance like she expected, but instead remorse. "I'm sorry about getting you dragged into this," the woman started, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry about almost getting you killed – twice. I know after the events that have happened so far, you have absolutely no reason to trust me; hell, I'm probably the person you want to be farthest away from right now." Green eyes lifted once more and looked straight into Liara's, her sincerity shining through, imploring Liara to believe her next words: "I can't change the past, but I _can_ protect you. I can make sure you arrive home safely and never get caught up in something like this again. You'll never hear from me, or the Tenth Street Reds ever again. All I ask is that you trust me this once. Please."

That voice, those eyes… Almost every part of Liara immediately wanted to trust this woman. Her words spoke both sincerity and confidence enough to fulfill her promises, and Liara nodded wordlessly, reverently. She felt like a solider falling in line, placing their life in their Commander's hands, trusting them to bring them home in the end. And they would get home; after all, _this_ was the woman leading the charge. They could not fail.

The human then smiled a toothy grin, youthful and cocky, and the vision was gone. Once more the redhead was a young adult, rebellious, stubborn and willing to take on the world. "My name's Shepard, by the way. Yours?"

"Ah…" Still a little struck by… whatever it was she had just experienced, all she could do was mutter her name quietly. "Liara."

"Well, Liara, I'll have you back home by nightfall," Shepard boasted. "Never underestimate a duct rat."


End file.
